


Truth Or Dare

by VanityAvalance



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: AU, F/F, Feelings, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23065429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanityAvalance/pseuds/VanityAvalance
Summary: AU where Charity and Vanessa aren’t together, but a series of random events conspire to draw them closer
Relationships: Charity Dingle/Vanessa Woodfield
Comments: 9
Kudos: 129





	1. Chapter 1

“Truth,” said Tracy, as she took a sip of her wine.

Her, Vanessa and Rhona were having a girls night at the pub which had somehow descended into a game of truth or dare. They were well on their way through their third bottle of wine and were all starting to become a little loose-tongued.

Rhona was considering her question carefully. “Out of Jamie, Jai and Liam, who would you snog, marry and avoid.”

Tracy thought about it for a moment. “Okay, I would snog Jamie, marry Liam, and avoid Jai. Easy!” She seemed pleased with herself. “Right, your turn Vanessa.”

Vanessa wondered why she had agreed to play the stupid game. They weren’t teenagers after all. “Truth,” she answered after a moment’s consideration.

“Okay, I’ve got a good one. If you had to pick one woman in the village to sleep with, who would it be?”

Vanessa blushed, immediately regretting choosing a truth. Her eyes scanned the pub, before resting on the side profile of Charity who was behind the bar, absentmindedly flicking through a magazine. There was no doubt that she was beautiful, and it wasn’t the first time Vanessa had noticed. She was unsure whether to answer truthfully or not, but that was the name of the game. And besides, she doubted that her friends would remember in the morning anyway.

“Charity,” she answered in what she thought was a whisper. 

The vet was unaware that the landlady had been listening in on their conversation on and off throughout the evening, as the amount of alcohol they had consumed meant they weren’t being quite as quiet as they thought. She had honed in on this particular question and on hearing Vanessa’s answer, she smirked to herself. Still got it, she thought.

Meanwhile, Tracy and Rhona couldn’t hide their surprise. “Charity?” they both questioned in unison.

“Ssshh,” Vanessa tried to quieten them.

“But she’s, well, Charity,” said Rhona, still surprised.

“Yes I know. But you said pick one person to sleep with. For a night. It’s not like I’m saying I want to get married and spend the rest of my life with her.” Vanessa was desperate to change the subject. “Your turn Rhona. If you had to pick one person to sleep with, who would it be?”

She thought about it for a few moments. “David,” she answered.

Tracy scoffed. “Been there, done that. You’re not missing anything. Back to me again. I choose a dare this time.”

Rhona’s eyes landed on Jai who was stood at the bar ordering a drink. “I dare you to go and squeeze Jai’s bum.”

Tracy just grinned. “You’re making this too easy.”

Tracy seemed to be taking great delight in the game and wasn’t showing even so much as a hint of embarrassment. She got up from her chair a little unsteadily and walked over to the bar. As she passed Jai she gave his bottom a quick pinch. As his head shot up, she simply carried on walking and gave him a wink and a wave to her laughing friends.

When Tracy returned from the toilet, the focus was back on Vanessa again.

“Truth or dare?” her sister asked her.

“Can’t we just go home?” pleaded Vanessa, feeling uncomfortable.

“Stop trying to get out of it. It’s fun.”

Vanessa relented, and after the embarrassment of opting for a truth the last time round, she decided on a dare.

“I was hoping you were going to say that,” said Tracy, barely being able to conceal her excitement. “I’ve got a really good one. I dare you to try your best chat up line on Charity, the object of your affections.”

Vanessa groaned inwardly. “Firstly, she’s not the object of my affections,” she practically hissed. “Second of all, I haven’t got any chat up lines which is why I’m so hopelessly single.”

“And THAT is why it’s going to be so hilarious,” said Tracy as she high-fived Rhona.

Charity had been listening to the whole exchange, unbeknownst to the trio. She rolled her eyes. This ought to be good, she thought to herself.

After sitting with her head in her hands for several moments, Vanessa steeled herself for the humiliation of what was to come. As the vet got out of her seat, Charity saw her approaching the bar from her peripheral vision. She stood up straight after being bent over her magazine.

“Vanessa, what can I get you?” the landlady said with a smirk.

Vanessa was refusing to meet her eye. “If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?” she said without any real enthusiasm.

Over at the table, Tracy and Rhona descended into a fit of giggles.

Charity’s eyebrows rose. “Wow, no offence babe, but with chat up lines like that it’s really no wonder you’re single.”

Vanessa was looking anywhere but at the landlady.

Charity decided to take pity on her and break the awkwardness. “So do you want another bottle of wine bringing over?”

Vanessa glanced back at Tracy and Rhona. “No. Thank you. I think we’d better call it a night.”

***

The following morning at work, Vanessa and Rhona were both nursing sore heads. Luckily they weren’t busy and left Pearl manning reception as they went through to Rhona’s kitchen for a cup of tea.

Vanessa sat down at the kitchen table, head thumping. She gave Rhona a grateful smile as she handed her a mug of steaming tea.

“Ugh, I am never drinking again,” said Rhona.

“Tell me about it. I feel like I might throw up at any moment.” Vanessa shot Rhona an awkward glance. “Erm, how much do you remember about last night?”

Rhona gave her friend a knowing smile. “Enough to remember you admitting to having a bit of a crush on Charity.”

Vanessa hid her face in her hands, clearly embarrassed. “I thought my days of drunkenly trying to chat up straight women were over.”

“Um, I don’t think you did exactly,” said Rhona cryptically.

“Oh, I did. I thought you said you remembered?”

“I do. What I mean is, Charity isn’t quite as straight as you think she is.”

Vanessa’s head shot up, and she instantly regretted the action, the sudden movement making her feel nauseous again. “What do you mean? She’s a man eater through and through.”

“Yes, but she also likes women. Hasn’t Paddy ever told you the story about her affair with Zoe Tate? And I’ve seen her head turned by plenty of other women over the years as well.”

Vanessa groaned. She really needed to work on her gaydar. Now that she thought about it properly, she wasn’t really that surprised. Because she had seen Charity flirting with plenty of women at the bar before, but she had always put it down to the landlady’s playful personality. But now she realised that it was more than that. She let her hands cover her face again. This makes it so much worse, she thought to herself.

“So....pub at lunch time?” suggested Rhona.

“NO!” said Vanessa firmly.

“Oh come on, you’ve got to face her sometime. And anyway, I really need something substantial to eat to get me over this hangover.”

***

Vanessa’s mind had wandered to Charity over the course of the morning. But just because she now knew Charity liked women and was slightly more obtainable than she previously thought, it didn’t change anything. She’d said it herself last night; yes she was attracted to Charity, but it didn’t mean she wanted anything to happen. The landlady was hardly relationship material after all. And it wasn’t like the attraction was mutual anyway.

As lunch time approached, Vanessa was silently praying that Charity wouldn’t be working, but as her and Rhona walked into the pub and she saw the woman in question, she realised she was out of luck. Charity looked up and when her eyes fell on Vanessa, she smirked and gave her a wink. Vanessa felt herself blush with embarrassment and averted her eyes. The two vets sat down at a table, and Vanessa was grateful that Rhona took care of ordering the food and drinks for the both of them.

Charity had disappeared for the last few minutes and Vanessa hoped that might have signalled her being on her break. She started to relax slightly as she chatted to Rhona. But her heart sunk when she saw the landlady come out of the kitchen with two plates of food in her hands. Normally Marlon or Victoria would bring the meals out so Charity had obviously intercepted them on purpose, which explained her disappearance.

“Here we go ladies,” Charity said smoothly. As she placed Vanessa’s plate in front of her, she purposely leaned in a little too closely. “And is there anything else that I can get you? Anything else that you would like?” she added suggestively, aimed purely at Vanessa.

Vanessa knew the teasing was all one big joke to Charity, at her expense.

“No thank you, I think we’re good,” said Rhona, effectively dismissing Charity.

“Well you know where I am if you change your mind,” drawled the landlady flirtatiously, unable to resist having the final word.

Once they had finished their meals, Rhona checked her watch. “I need to be getting back. I’ve got an appointment in ten minutes. You coming?”

“No, you go ahead,” said Vanessa. “I’ll finish my drink and follow shortly.” She wanted to clear the air with Charity so she could hopefully avoid being made fun of again the next time she came to the pub.

Vanessa watched her friend leave, and then looked around the Woolpack. She realised it had been emptied of most of the lunchtime customers. Charity was collecting glasses at the far end of the pub. Vanessa approached her gingerly.

“Charity, look, I wanted to apologise for last night.” 

The landlady looked up, but didn’t stop what she was doing. “Which part? The bit about fancying me, or that terrible crime you committed against chat up lines?”

Vanessa felt heat rise to her face. “I don’t....I don’t fancy you, it was just a stupid game of truth or dare, and the chat up line was a dare.”

Charity smirked. “Sure, babe.” Vanessa was still unaware that Charity had in fact overheard the answer to her ‘truth’ question prior to the dare. “You’re not the first person to try and chat me up, and you certainly won’t be the last.”

The landlady moved to clear the next table and Vanessa went to follow her, but she tripped on the legs of one of the bar stools and stumbled to the floor. Charity turned and looked down at the vet, failing to control her amusement.

“Oh babe, this is priceless,” the taller woman said with a laugh. “I mean I’ve had plenty of women falling at my feet before metaphorically speaking, but never literally!”

Vanessa just scowled. She quickly got to her feet, but winced slightly as she felt her left wrist.

Charity picked up on Vanessa’s pain immediately and her amused expression instantly changed to concern.

“Wait, are you hurt? I’m sorry for laughing. Let me see.” She quickly put the glasses down that she was holding, and gently took hold of Vanessa’s wrist, inspecting it. “You need to get some ice on that, come with me.”

Vanessa wordlessly followed Charity through to the back and into the living room.

“Take a seat,” instructed the landlady.

Vanessa sat down on the sofa, a little uneasy in her new surroundings. Charity went to the freezer and wrapped some ice in a tea towel, before sitting next to Vanessa on the sofa and handing her the neat package.

“I am sorry, you know,” said Charity a little awkwardly. “If I hadn’t have been making fun of you, you wouldn’t have tripped. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

Vanessa softened. “I know.” She could tell the apology was genuine. “And it was my own stupid fault for being so clumsy.”

Charity removed the ice so that she could look at Vanessa’s injury properly. She gently took the vet’s hand in hers, turning her wrist over carefully to inspect it. Vanessa felt something flutter in her chest at the tenderness of Charity’s touch. The landlady squeezed gently at various points, apologising softly when Vanessa winced.

Finally satisfied that there was no lasting damage, Charity grabbed the first aid kit. “You’ll mend. I think it’s just a sprain. But I’ll wrap it just to give you a bit of extra support.”

Vanessa watched the concentration on Charity’s face as she carefully covered her wrist with a bandage, fastening it with some surgical tape. The landlady’s attentiveness was something Vanessa had never witnessed before, and she liked it. When Charity had finished, her hand lingered on Vanessa’s for a fraction longer than was really necessary. She absentmindedly rubbed a gentle circle on the top of the vet’s hand with her thumb, before drawing back.

“Who would have thought it,” Vanessa softly teased. “Charity Dingle doing first aid!”

Charity playfully narrowed her eyes and bumped her shoulder against Vanessa’s. “Don’t tell anyone. You’ll ruin my reputation. But our Noah’s got in enough scrapes over the years for me to know what I’m doing.”

They smiled at one another before Vanessa glanced at the clock. “I’d better be going. Rhona will be wondering where I am.” They both stood. “Thank you for this,” continued Vanessa, holding her bandaged wrist up. “For taking care of me.”

“Anytime, kid. I really am sorry you know. And be careful with that wrist, yeah?”

“Yeah,” said Vanessa with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Charity’s fingers drummed on the steering wheel irritably. She looked at the clock on the dashboard. She was stuck in traffic and had fifteen minutes to pick Moses up from nursery, or face extra charges for being late. The cars in front of her finally started to move and she let out a breath of relief – she might just make it.

Charity arrived at the nursery with five minutes to spare, and internally congratulated herself. As she entered the building she was greeted by Steph, one of the members of staff. Charity soon found Moses sat on the floor playing with another child who she soon recognised as Johnny. They were the only two children remaining.

“Where’s Vanessa?” Charity asked Steph.

“She called a few moments ago. She got held up on a call out and is running late. She should be here in about half an hour.”

Charity bent down and picked up Moses. “Right, let’s get you home little man.”

As Charity started to walk away carrying Moses in her arms, Johnny started to cry. The landlady stopped and turned to look at him. She glanced up and caught Steph’s eye.

“Don’t worry,” the nursery nurse said. “He often gets like this when he’s not with any of the other children. He’ll settle as soon as Miss Woodfield comes to pick him up.”

Johnny continued to cry and though she would never admit it, it was pulling on Charity’s heartstrings a little bit.

“He could come with us,” she suggested. “We literally live a few doors apart.”

“I’m sorry Miss Dingle,” said Steph apologetically. “We’re not allowed to let the children go with anyone who’s not on their approved list.

“Right. Of course.”

Johnny was starting to get really quite distressed. Charity hesitated for a few moments and then came up with a solution. She set Moses back down on the floor next to Johnny.

“But there’s nothing to stop us from waiting here with you until your mum shows up, is there Johnny?”

As soon as the little boy had his playmate back, he quietened down immediately, and Charity allowed herself a small smile as she watched him and Moses play together again.

Around thirty minutes later, Vanessa hurried into the nursery. She shot Steph an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”

Vanessa seemed surprised when she noticed Charity.

“Hiya,” said the vet. “I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought I’d be last. Were you running late too?”

“Yeah, something like that. How’s the wrist by the way?”

Vanessa flexed it. “It was sore for a few days, but it’s all better now....thanks to your excellent first aid skills!”

Charity shot her a small grin. “Right, well we best be going because this one’s late for his tea. See you around.”

Vanessa watched the landlady go. “Yeah, see you.”

The vet turned her attention back to Johnny and spent a few moments getting him ready for home.

“How much do I owe you for being late?” Vanessa called over to Steph. “You must be doing well out of us today with both me and Charity not being on time.”

“Oh, Miss Dingle was here before the cut off. She just stayed with Johnny until you arrived because he was a bit upset.”

Vanessa stopped in her tracks as she processed Steph’s words. Doing something like that was so uncharacteristically Charity that she thought she must have been mistaken. But then she thought back to a few nights ago and how gentle the landlady had been when she hurt her wrist, and she started to reconsider all the things she thought she knew about her. 

***

Later that evening, Vanessa went to the pub for a drink, and found Charity was serving.

“What can I get you?” the landlady asked, making no reference to their meeting at the nursery earlier.

“Well first of all I want to thank you for earlier,” said Vanessa. “Steph told me what you did. You and Moses staying with Johnny because he was upset. It means the world that you made him feel better. Thank you.”

Charity’s face softened. “Yeah well, he was so upset, poor little mite.” Vanessa immediately looked guilty at the landlady’s words. Charity realised she had said the wrong thing and hurriedly corrected herself. “That wasn’t a criticism by the way. I know what it’s like to be a single mum, having to do everything on your own.”

Vanessa gave her a grateful smile. “But why didn’t you just tell me what you’d done?” the vet asked.

Charity briefly considered the question. “Well, I can’t be letting things like that get about can I. It’ll ruin...”

“Yeah, I know,” interrupted Vanessa with a grin. “It’ll ruin your reputation!”

Charity smiled back at her, remembering she had said the exact words a few nights ago.

As Vanessa walked home that evening, she started to wonder exactly what it was that Charity’s reputation was built on. Because she had now seen under her hard exterior a couple of times, and those glimpses didn’t at all resemble Charity’s normal persona.

“This is so inconvenient,” Vanessa murmured to herself. Because it was fine being attracted to Charity when it was purely on a physical level. But now she was starting to realise she might actually like Charity as a person as well. Which would likely spell trouble.


End file.
